The True Story of Little Red | June 30 – August 16

adapted by Dawn McAndrews
directed by Tess Van Horn

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We all know the story of Little Red, who set off through the woods to bring sick Grammy some bread. But what if Red wasn’t so sweet, and Grammy not helpless but strong, the Woodsman a bully, and the Wolf the top dog? So how do we know which version of the story is true? In the end we’ll leave that decision to you.

Schedule
Saturday, June 30, 1:00 p.m. (Opening)
Saturday, July 7, 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 14, 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 21, 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 31, 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 4, 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 7, 1:00 p.m.
Friday, August 10, 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 16, 1:00 p.m.
Production Team

Tess Van Horn
Director

Katie Keaton
Set Designer

Elizabeth Rocha
Costume Designer

Emily Beggs
Lighting Designer

Rew Tippin
Sound Designer

Michelle Chesley
Stage Manager

Cast (in order of appearance)

Alexandra Curren
Red

Maureen Butler
Granny

Mike Dolan
Woodsman

Kevin Aoussou
Wolf

From the Director

We’ve all heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Perhaps there’s a fond memory of someone telling it to you as a child or it’s the images from illustrated picture books, or cartoons, musicals, Loony Tunes. These iconic depictions of Wolf, Grandmother, Woodcutter, and Young Girl in a Red Cape are deeply imbedded in our culture. It’s easy to overlook the strangeness and deep-seeded darkness of the original tale. In fact, the origin of Little Red Riding Hood can be traced as far back as the 10th century when French peasants perhaps told the story to their young ones as a precautionary tale. The story has also been traced to Italy in the 14th century (Las finite nana aka The False Grandmother), and quite possibly in an “oriental” version called Grandaunt Tiger. Needless to say, it’s been around a long time.

The exciting thing about this new version is how we are able to see the story from each character’s perspective. It breaks down some of the old-fashioned ideas of Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother being victims and instead gives each character a strong voice with independent thought. It asks us to consider what it means when someone tells their side of the story. What is in fact “the truth”? When we are able to look at each person’s perspective with equal light we see that “truth” is a more complicated concept and often times the answers are somewhere in that gray area. It is hard and sometimes scary for us as humans not to see things in black and white, but perhaps we can open ourselves up to exhibit more compassion for all beings (even a “scary” wolf) and ultimately feel a deeper connection to the world around us.